INKSUN
by Funke-Fan-Forever
Summary: This is a fanfiction which continues on from 'Inkspell' - the second book in the 'Ink' trilogy. I'm sorry but I probably won't update much more as I never seem to have any free time any more, but I really hope you enjoy what I've written so far.
1. Chapter 1: On The Moor

**INKSUN**

Chapter one – The Moor

Meggie rested her head on the Crisp Grass, watching the sunset, her pen and notebook lay abandoned beside her as she gazed at the bright sky, she was lost in her own thoughts; how beautiful the Inkworld looked at night, the vivid colours making the sky come to life. Every day she had come here, every day since…, since 'it' had happened. Every day she had brought down her pen and notebook and sat here, on the moor, away from everyone, away from life at the camp. Mo and Resa had tried their hardest to find out what she did in those hours she spent alone, but Meggie couldn't tell them, she didn't want to, because, however hard she tried to hide the truth, it kept coming back at her; she didn't know what she was doing herself, all she knew is that she needed these few hours every day, to herself, alone with nothing but her thoughts.

As the colours faded from the sky, Meggie heaved herself to her feet and gathered her pen and notebook in her arms. She sighed as she saw the blank, empty pages longing to be filled with words, for the reason she brought them down to the moor with her every night was that a few weeks ago she had, had an idea, an idea that would make everything right again, everything back to normal, with everyone happy, everyone, including Dustfinger. Meggie's idea had been to write Dustfinger back into Inkworld herself, no one else would do it; Orpheus just moped around the camp all day, kicking the oak-imps out of his way and continually sniffing the air, as though there was a bad smell under his nose; Fenoglio acted completely opposite to Orpheus, always jumping up in surprise if a fairy, accidentally flew into him and walking around with a permanent expression of disbelief on his face. Well; Meggie had thought, if no one else will do it then I might as well have a go. The first few nights Meggie had come to the moor, she had sat, pen in hand with her notebook in her lap and tried to write, but nothing came, she tried as hard as she could to think up a few lines that would make Dustfinger appear, but it was no use, and the notebook stayed blank, after that Meggie had still tried to her story but her heart was no longer in it, and now she only brought her pen and paper to make her feel that she was, at least trying to do something help.

She groaned as she packed away the notebook, frustrated that she had let herself give up so easily and then headed off back to camp, back to misery. 


	2. Chapter 2: The Camp

**Chapter 2 – The Camp**

As soon Meggie walked back into the camp she was hit by the cheerless atmosphere. Fenoglio was sprawled across his mattress playing finger games with the oak-imps; Orpheus lay on his back with his eyes wide open, he seemed to be muttering quietly to himself; a habit he had started just after it had all happened; after Dustfinger had been taken; and Resa kept saying she missed Elinor; and Fenoglio had begun hitting his head every so often, to make sure he wasn't imaging this whole thing; and Farid had….Farid! Meggie had almost forgotten. She looked over at Mo, who was slumped over a log, Resa draped over his shoulder asleep, Mo was staring into the flames, with a vacant expression on his face, probably thinking about Dustfinger, Meggie thought, and for a moment she wished harder than she had ever wished before that he was here now; playing with the fire; fooling around with Gwin and teaching Farid new tricks, but she thought, blinking back tears, if Dustfinger was here then Farid wouldn't be alive. She quickly wiped the thought out of her mind; tiptoed past Orpheus, who was still mumbling to himself, and went to join mo on the log.

Mo drew his eyes away from the fire and onto Meggie as she sat down beside him. For a few moments they sat in silence, apart from Resa's heavy breathing on Mo's shoulder, and then finally Mo spoke;

"Are you going to tell me what you've been doing all afternoon?" Mo said, wearily, turning to face Meggie. She looked up into his eyes, they looked tired, like he hadn't slept in weeks, she dropped her gaze and looked down at her barefeet. After a pause Mo turned his head back to the flames;

"I thought not," He muttered. Meggie blushed and bit her lip, she didn't know why she didn't tell him, she hadn't been doing anything wrong, just thinking, but she could see his face if she tried to tell him; he wouldn't understand.

"I was just wondering," she mumbled, "what time's Farid due back tonight," Mo's expression didn't change although Meggie he slightly raised his eyebrows,

"I don't know Meggie," he replied finally, "he didn't say, just said he'd be back before morning, and that he was going on another walk," Meggie nodded, a perl shaped tear slid down her cheek; she left the log and made her way back to her tent.

"Meggie," Mo called softly after her, Meggie turned her head and saw that Mo was looking at her, "You know I love you don't you," More silent tears sild down Meggie's face and she ran back to Mo and gave him a such a mammoth hug that she woke Resa, who looked from Meggie's tearstained face, to Mo's tired one and sighed

"What am I going to do with you two?" She smiled and joined in the hug.

And so they sat there, hugging, on a log in the middle of Inkworld; Meggie, Mo and Resa, unaware of what would come in the morning. 


	3. Chapter 3: Elinor Cracks

**Chapter 3 – Jane**

Elinor's room was a mess; her clothes were spoilt and dumped in a heap on the floor; her bedside lamp was no longer at her bedside, but sprawled on the floor, the bulb shattered into a million pieces and her normally white, clean, wallpaper was ripped from the walls and spread all over the wreaked carpet; Elinor had cracked.

She lay on her bed, eyes wide open, unblinking, if anyone had walked in and seen her then, they would have thought she was as dead as she felt. She hadn't moved all day, and it seemed no one could make her. It had all happened last night:

Just as she was making herself a cup of tea; out of the kitchen window she'd seen a girl of about 12, staggering up to the front door.

'MEGGIE!' She had gasped, her heart pounding,

'DARIUS LOOK, LOOK WHO'S COME BACK TO US!' Elinor had dashed to the door and unfastened the chains that were locking it, her fingers fumbling, she threw open the door just as Darius appeared at the top of the stairs.

There stood a girl, dressed in a brown shawl and a ragged dress with a nametag pinned to her breast that read 'JANE', her hair was up in a bun net, and her leg was dragging behind her. She was holding up a tin labelled 'help the children, we need you.' As she saw the girl standing there, Elinor's smile diminished and she found a tear sliding down her cheek, Darius stood at the top the stairs, watching helplessly.

The Girl started to speak, when Elinor finally snapped back to her senses.

"Oh hello dear," she said, "is it money you're after?" her thin lips stretched into a pained smile; the girl nodded shakily. Elinor peered at her over her glasses, and noticed that she was shivering from the cold; her feet were bare and scratched, probably from the jorney up to the house Elinor thought with a sigh, she really must hire someone to clear up all the weeds. After a slight pause Elinor took a twenty pound note from her purse and stuffed it into the tin (noticing that so far all that had been collected were a few pennies and a button),

"There you go darling, go and buy yourself some new clothes, heavens above, you must be freezing." The girl, peeped into the tin, to see how much she had got this time, and seeing the twenty-pound note she gawped at it in wonder. Then without warning, she threw herself on Elinor, almost knocking her glasses off. After she'd got over the shock, Elinor smiled and patted the girls back awkwardly.

"Now, now dear, no need to get silly," She said, her voice wavering, as if it were likely to break any second. She carefully extracted the girl off her and waved her goodbye as she limped back down the pathway to the road.

Elinor shut the door behind her and leaned against it for a while, her eyes squeezed, tightly shut and her forehead creased. Darius was still positioned like a statue at the top of the stairs, not knowing quite what to do. A few minutes passed and they just stood their, motionless.

Just as Darius was about to speak, Elinor put her hand up, as if to silence him, she opened her eyes, and her glasses misted over.

"Don't," she whispered

"But…"

"Just don't Darius, please just don't," she said, sucking her lips, trying to keep the tears in.

"There's nothing you can say," she sniffed, her face crumpling up

"Surely there must be something," Darius pleaded,

"no. nothing,"

There was a pause as Darius fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, wondering what to say,

"I'VE BEEN SO STUPID," Elinor cried, cutting through the silence,

"no, no you haven't," Darius said, abandoning his spot on the stairs and running down to comfort her, "anyone could have thought that, that girl was Meggie, and you've been waiting for her for so long that you just….

"EXACTLY," Elinor sobbed, "I'VE JUST BEEN WAITING, WAITING AND MOPING AROUND THE HOUSE, I SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING, TRYING TO GET THEM BACK!"

Darius was at a loss for words, he never had been good in a crisis and Elinor was breaking down.

"IT'S BEEN TWO WHOLE WEEKS SINCE THAT STUPID MAN VANISHED, VANISHED IN FRONT OF MY EYES," she carried on, "HE'S IN INKWORLD NOW, WITH MY FAMILY; MY MEGGIE AND MY SISTER, AND WHERE AM I," she bawled, "I'M STUCK HERE, IN THIS HUGE HOUSE, WITH NO ONE BUT YOU FOR COMPANY, AND YOU, YOU DON'T EVEN DO ANYTHING, YOU WON'T EVEN TRY TO READ ME INTO INKWORLD, YOU STUPID, COWARD…" She broke off, realising that she had offended him, and ran up to her room.

Darius heard Elinor's wild screams and ornaments being smashed against the walls. He knelt down by the banister and quietly shed his own set of tears. 


	4. Chapter 4: Farid's walks

**Chapter 4 – Farid's Walks**

It was silent in the camp, night had fallen and everyone lay asleep on the mattresses, even Mo had finally neglected his spot by the fire and retired to bed with the others. The oak-imps were settled at the foot of their home tree and the fairies' were settled by the stream that flowed through the camp. One mattress however was left unslept in, its duvet folded carefully at the side of the tent, Farid had not yet returned. Since Dustfinger's death Farid had shied away from the world, he had taken to going on long walks every so often, sometimes lasting days, but always after finishing Orpheus' jobs. Like Meggies visits to the Moor no one knew quite where Farid went on these trips, and he wouldn't let anyone accompany him, or even say where he was going, he just went, telling Mo roughly when he would be back. He was, as Fenoglio often said, more like a visitor to the camp now than an inhabitant of it.

Meggie's eyes snapped open and she woke up with a start; she heard twigs snap and the sound of someone cursing under their breath. She quietly pushed her duvet aside and tiptoed to the opening of the tent, but it was too dark to see anything. She felt her way over to her father's tent and carefully picked up the torch. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to wake him, knowing that he would defiantly not approve of her wandering around at night in Inkworld, but remembering how tired he had looked earlier she just kissed his forehead gently and crept back out of his tent. She shone the torch around her, searching for any sign of movement but seeing nothing she dropped the torches gaze and listened for noise. She waited in silence for a while, not knowing what to do. She was just about to go back to the tent when suddenly she heard a noise from behind her. She swung 'round and pointed her torch to the trees, her breath ridged and her face flushed she walked over there.

"Hello," Meggie whispered, "H..hello, Is any…Is anyone there?" Her voice shoke as she spoke. She shone the torch at the massive tree that loomed ahead of her, awaking the oak-imps who scowled and shook their fists at her.

"Sorry," she said to the in an undertone, quickly moving the torch's beam from their eyes, as she did so the torch's beams shifted to the gound next to the tree where her eyes fell on an object lying on the ground. She shone her light on it and moved closer. It was a knife.

Meggie walked towards the knife, her heart beating so fast that she thought it would burst. She was about to pick it up when suddenly out of nowhere an arm dropped down from the tree. Meggie stifled a scream, and backed away, shining the torch into the tree. She was not expecting the sight that met her eyes. A boy hung limply from the tree, his skin, although naturally dark, was pale from exhaustion, and his shadowy eyes were bleak, as though all the life had been sucked out of them.

Meggie gasped as she realised who she was looking at, her eyes widened and she dropped her torch.

"Farid" she cried.


	5. Chapter 5: The man at the door

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Chapter 5 – The man at the door

It had been two days since Elinor's outburst and she still hadn't moved; Darius didn't know what to do. He brought some food and drink up to her room at every meal, but they were left untouched by her bedside. He had cleared up the mess in her room, mended her china ornaments and hung up her clothes, but nothing made any difference, Elinor wouldn't stir. It was just after lunch-time two days after her explosion that she finally came back to earth.

Darius tottered down the stairs, balancing Elinor's uneaten breakfast on his right arm, and her washing over his left one. He had abandoned all hope of getting her to talk to him or eat and eventually, for fear that she would dehydrate from lack of water, tilted open her mouth and poured some water down her throat; she hadn't even flinched.

Just as Darius reached the kitchen, he tripped over a book lying abandoned on the floor, he lost his footing and slammed onto the floor, breaking the plate he was carrying and sending Elinor's washing flying.

"aggh," he groaned, his face pressed against the wooden floor, "I've got to do something, being stuck in this place is pointless, no wonder Elinor went mad."

he lay there in that position for some time, not having the strength to get up and sort out the mess, when suddenly the silence was broken by a loud tap on the door, Darius groaned,

"Go away," he called, too tired to move, but there came the tap again,

"OK, OK, I'M COMING," he shouted at the door, in a manner so unlike his own that he shocked himself, with much effort he pulled himself to his feet, and grumbling he went to answer the door.

A man stood there, his sandy hair flopping over his face and his dull brown eyes boring into Darius' brain.

"Oh," he squeaked, "It's you," the man said nothing but strode inside, his clothes wet from the rain outside. Darius watched him in awe,

"How, how did, you," his voice trailed off as the man stood staring at him.

"I, I, I didn't know you, you, you," again Darius' voice trailed away,

"Never were much good with words where you?" the man said in a faraway voice,

"hmm," Darius smiled awkwardly,

"Listen," the man started, "I've only come here because I need to get back, Orpheus can read me, and then…"

"wait!" Darius interrupted, "follow me," he said, leading the man up the stairs excitedly.

"but…"

"Just trust me," he said, and directed the man into Elinor's bedroom.

The man gasped as he walked in and saw Elinor lying on her bed eyes wide open,

"Is she…?" he asked gingerly

"No, no no," Darius stated, "Just a bit out of it at the moment," He walked over to the bedstead,

"Elinor," he said softly, shaking her gently, she didn't move, "Elinor," he tried again, "Look who's come to see us," He whispered, Elinor's body didn't budge but Darius saw her eyes swivel to see who was there. Gradually her face changed into an expression of disbelief, She blinked and focused her eyes, still he was there, she blinked again but nothing changed. Hevens above woman, you must be going mad she thought to herself. She sat up and gulped, it really was him, he'd come back, back to help them get to Meggie and Resa. She leapt off the bed and up to him.

"Dustfinger!" she breathed


	6. Chapter 6: Farid's Confession

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Chapter 6 – Farid's Confession

Farid hung there, face as pale as a ghost and eyes as dull as a dead mans; for a moment Meggie remained motionless, starting at Farid, staring at her, staring at him. After what seemed like an hour Meggie spoke,

"W, wha, what happened?" she gasped, struggling to find the right words. Farid didn't reply, just dangled there, in mid air, eyes blank as if they were looking right through Meggie and at the camp behind.

"What is it Farid?" She asked tenderly, "What's the matter?" Still Farid's eyes bored through her. She swung 'round, to see what he seemed to be looking at and as soon as her back was turned she heard a loud thump from behind her. She swerved back 'round and to her horror she saw Farid lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the tree, surrounded by lots of angry oak-imps. Meggie Squealed and ran to Farid's side, shooing the little creatures away, she saw that he had a huge gash in his arm, obviously caused by some sort of knife and that his feet were red and raw, probably from running barefoot. His thud as he fell out of the tree had woken Mo and Resa; they appeared from their tent sleepy-eyed and yawning, seeing Meggie over by the tree they rushed over and gasped in shock as they saw Farid lying there. Mo knelt at his side and checked his pulse, while Resa comforted Meggie, who was shaking with terror at the sight of Farid's wounds. After a few seconds of worried silence, Mo heaved a sigh of relief.

"He's ok," he exclaimed, "He's just fainted,"

Mo carried Farid back to camp and into the tent,

"He weighs almost nothing," he uttered as he slung Farid over his shoulder. In the tent Fenoglio woke up and enquired as to what had happened. Resa and Meggie stayed with him and cleaned up his wounds with water and tissue paper.

"But how did he get them," Meggie kept on asking, but no one could give her a proper answer,

"You can ask him when he wakes up," Resa said, "It shouldn't be long now, look, the colour's already coming back to his cheeks," and it was true, his face do longer looked so gaunt and pale, but more like his normal tanned complexion. After they'd cleared up all his wounds Resa went outside to find Mo, and Meggie stayed alone with Farid. His eyes still look dead she thought, softly stroking his forehead. She quickly stole a glance at the big gash on his arm. Who did it to him? She wondered, but she could only think of one person that 'creative' with a knife, and he was gone, dead. Farid groaned unexpectedly, and his eyes blinked, he sat up when he saw Meggie, but yelped in pain for his back still ached from the fall from the tree.

"Meggie!" he murmured, resting his back on the mattress again. She smiled at him and kissed his forehead gently,

"Are you ok?" she asked tentatively, trying to cover up how scared she was. Farid nodded and gazed around, as if he was trying to remember where he was. Then suddenly a fearful look came over his face as he saw his wounded arm, he moved it so that it was out of Meggie's eyesight, like he was trying to hide it from her.

"Farid what's the matter," Meggie asked, her voice shaking slightly, "what happened to your arm?" Farid didn't answer for a moment, just stared at Meggie, how beautiful she looks, he thought, her blue eyes twinkling, and her fair hair falling over her face, he looked deep into her eyes, and revealed all of what had happened last night.

"I saw him Meggie," he said in a strangled voice, "he was there, right in front of me,"

"But he's dead Farid!" Meggie replied, shaking her head, "He died in my world remember, you were there."

"I know," Farid sighed, "But he was there, I'm telling you Meggie, I saw him,"

Meggie put her head in her hands,

"He was there! He was Meggie, I'm not lying, I swear." Meggie looked up at him, and then back down to his arm,

"but you say he didn't see you," she started,

"no, he didn't because I was….."

"you say he didn't see you," Meggie began again, "then how did he do that," she cried, pointing to the gash in his skin. There was a pause while Farid lay motionless, his mouth hanging open as if to say something, but then he shut it again and looked away.

"See," Meggie almost shouted in expiration, "you can't explain it," and she got up and walked to the fold of the tent,

"Meggie wait!" Farid groaned

"just tell me the truth Farid," she sobbed, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I AM!" he said, heaving himself out of bed and running up to Meggie, his face screwed up with pain,

"Get back to bed," she whispered through her tears,

"No," Farid stated, "not until you believe me," he declared, wincing in pain, "I would never lie to you Meggie," he carried on, "you've got to believe me, I'm telling the truth: I. SAW. CAPRICORN. IN. THE. WOODS." He finished, and without warning he looked adoringly into her eyes and kissed her, a long soft kiss that made her legs turn to jelly. After it had finished she smiled, her eyes shining with happiness, Farid wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Ok," she grinned helplessly, "Ok I believe you."


	7. Chapter 7: The Wound

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Chapter 7 – The Wound

Over the next few days Meggie and Farid were inseparable, Meggie stayed at Farid's side at all times, nursing him back to full health. They rarely spoke of other than Capricorn, and now that Meggie had accepted that he wasn't lying about seeing him in the woods, she wanted to know every single detail.

"He was just there," Farid would say,

"But how?" Meggie would ask, "Where did he come from?"

"I dunno," Farid always replied shrugging, "He just appeared." All their conversations ended like this, both were too confused to speak, It just didn't make sense; Capricorn was dead, they had seen him die, they had both been there; but he was here now, he was back. How?

Meggie had told Mo about Farid's tale but unlike Meggie, Mo could not be so easily convinced with a kiss.

"Are you sure he didn't imagine it Meggie," he asked

"No he didn't Mo, he saw him, in the woods, he saw him, he did,"

"Ok Meggie," Mo said raising his eyebrows and walking away, but Meggie could tell that he didn't believe her; she could always tell when he was lying, he'd never been any good at it. But as the days went by, although she had told Farid that she believed him, she sometimes wondered if he was telling the whole truth. It just didn't seem to make sense; he insisted that Capricorn hadn't seen him but then who gave him the gash on his arm? One afternoon when this thought had been tearing at her mind all day, she decided to confront him again.

Meggie crept into the tent, Farid lay on his mattress asleep, she glanced at his wound quickly, it was healing fast but there would always be a scar there. Farid yawned suddenly and opened his eyes, when he saw Meggie he smiled and sat up to give her a small kiss. Meggie smiled back, but her face fell when she realised what she was here to do.

"Farid," she began, unsure of what to say, "You know I believe you with the whole Capricorn thing" Farid watched her, wondering what was to come next, "Well I do believe you, I believe you saw him in the woods, but….but," Meggie stopped, thinking what to say, "but I still don't understand how you got the cut?" Farid groaned and ran his fingers through his hair; she carried on "how can Capricorn have done it when you say he didn't see you….It doesn't make sense," she finished her face creased and confused.

"Meggie," Farid said, "Can't we just leave it at you believing me. I know it's a lot to ask, but I really don't want to talk about it. It's not important really, it's…it's…."

"Not Important!" Meggie said, shaking her head in disbelief, "Farid, if Capricorn did this has seen you; he knows you're here, he'll come and get us; you know what he's like, you were there in my world, You've seen what he did, what he's capable of doing. He was going to kill us!" Meggie shouted, a few tears creeping out of her eyes. Farid was staring into the distance; he couldn't bear to see Meggie cry again. She came up to the mattress and stood beside him,

"Farid, I believe that you saw Capricorn in the woods. When you told me about that, you said you would never lie to me, why won't you just tell me why Capricorn did this to you?" Farid dragged his eyes away from the corner of the tent and brought them to Meggie's eyes,

"Because Capricorn didn't do it," he whispered,

Meggie stood confused,

"Then who did," she stared at him

"I did."

"MEGGIE, FARID" A voice came from the opening in the tent, Farid turned to see who it was, Meggie just stood gazing at him.

"Meggie, your father's just told me what you told him," It was Fenoglio, "Is it true Farid?" he panted. Meggie turned 'round, Fenoglio was in quite a state, his grey hair flying out all over the place, and his face glistening wet with sweat.

"Yes," Farid replied, "I saw Capricorn in the forest; he just appeared there in front of me." Fenoglio heavily wrinkled face crumpled up even more.

"No, no, no, no, no," he said shaking his head, and putting his face in his hands. "I thought this might happen, It's all to do with the dust." He moaned, clawing at his face. "I suppose if it works one way, it must work the other." Meggie and Farid glanced at each other, worried.

"THE STUPID, BLOODY DUST!" Fenoglio shouted suddenly, "WHY, WHY NOW!" he got up and paced up and down.

"What are you talking about?" Meggie asked cautiously, touching his shoulder, but he shook her off, ignoring her question.

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS AFRAID OF!" he bellowed, "THEM GETTING COVERED IN THE STUPID BOOK DUST, THAT'S WHY I STOPPED WRITING, TO STOP INTERFERING WITH THE SYSTEM, I KNEW IT WHEN I SAW THAT FAIRY! I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!" he finished. Meggie and Farid were ogling him as if he was mad; they had never seen him shout so much before. Fenoglio sighed and walked over to the bed where they were sitting.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I got a bit carried away there. But I just realised what's happening." He paused for breath, Meggie and Farid were starting at him intently, exhaling heavily he looked at both of them.

"I think there's something you need to know…"


	8. Chapter 8: Dustfinger's Tale

**Chapter 8 – Dustfinger's Story  
**  
Elinor handed Dustfinger a warm mug of tea, her hands shaking slightly although she tried to hide them, heavens above woman, she thought to herself; first wreaking your room and now this, what's wrong with you. She sat down and wordlessly started sipping her own tea, absentmindedly slopping most of it down her crisp new shirt. Darius cowered in a small seat by the corner, fidgeting nervously with his fingers, waiting for Dustfinger to talk. They sat in silence for a while, whilst he gulped down the drink and wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand; then finally Dustfinger spoke:

"I'm not really sure how to begin," he said uneasily, "It's all a bit of a blur really." He glanced at Elinor and Darius who were watching him keenly, Sighing he yawned, "Ok," he groaned, "I'll tell it from the beginning..."

"…and then I summoned the white women to me, just like in the story, I summoned them with my fire and convinced them to take me instead, they took a lot of persuading, but eventually they agreed and breathed the soul back into the boy," Dustfinger heard a gasp from the corner but carried on, "As soon as they did that, they towered over me, and from then on everything is a bit hazy. All of a sudden they were leaning over my torso; the last thing I remember is seeing the boy stir and Roxanne standing in front of me crying. Then I think I collapsed." He broke off, and took a fleeting look at Elinor and Darius; they were gawping at him, hanging on to every word. Suddenly he felt the urge to use one of those camera things that he saw so many people use in this world; he was sure that never again would he see Elinor in such an unladylike position, her legs wide apart and her mouth hanging open in wonder. Deciding a mental image would do, he picked up from where he'd left off.  
"It felt like days before I woke up again; my eyes didn't work at first and I had blisters in my mouth from all the fire-eating for the white women – even a trained fire-eater gets a sore mouth occasionally, but I hadn't had blisters in years. – After what seemed like hours I finally got the ability to move my eyelids back and I released them." He paused and licking his lips, decided not to tell them about the courage it had taken to open his eyelids, the fear he had felt as he woke up, and the pain of realizing where he was. "I exposed my eyes to the world, and after they adjusted and got into focus, I closed them again. I was back in the place that I hated most in this world, the place that I had hoped never to return to again. I was back at Capricorns head-quarters."

"…and from then on I just came down here as fast as I could; you were the only people I could think of that live in this world, you're the only people I know here, and I hoped Orpheus might be able too…you know…take me back…but he's not here" he said turning round, as if Orpheus was going to appear behind him, "where is he?"

Elinor and Darius who had sat in amazement while Dustfinger told his tale, came round at last, lost for words; Elinor suddenly realized her mouth was hanging wide open; and hastily shut it, embarrassed, and actually blushing, a thing which she could never remember doing before in her life. Eventually Darius came back to his senses and answered Dustfinger's question.  
"He…he...he left" Darius squeaked, "read himself into the book about two weeks ago-"   
"Yes," Elinor cut in, finally finding her voice, "In front of my eyes he did it too, a right shock he gave me, made me drop the bottle of wine he ordered, heavens above, what a mess that made," she exclaimed, pointing to the crimson stain on the floor, "Stained my carpet that did, I could strangle him, if only he knew how much that cost…" She carried on ranting on while Dustfinger watched with an expression of amusement mingled with bewilderment and in the corner Darius grinned for the first time in weeks. The old Elinor was back.


	9. Chapter 9: Capricorn's ruins

**Chapter 9 – Capricorn's Ruins**

It was dark in the Wayless Woods and the trees loomed threateningly ahead. The only sounds were the fairies frolicking about and playfully weaving in and out of the lake; and the fire-birds chirping their song. An oak-imp scampered over to the nearest tree, carrying an acorn almost as big as his head. All of a sudden a figure drew out of the darkness, and a shadow fell over the lake. A squelching noise came from the place where the Oak-imp had been standing; the acorn which he had been holding rolled down to the lake; and gleaming, syrupy, white blood shone on the grass. At that moment the moon forced itself for a moment above the treetops and illuminated the body standing there. Its beams shone on a fairly tall man, with dirty blonde hair, short and bristly. He was bent down, his fist, covered in the white sticky blood, was positioned a few inches off the ground. Luckily the few seconds of moonlight that showed his body could not reveal the true horrors of his face. His skin had a kind of pallor to his complexion, and looked as if it had been stretched far to tightly over his face, like elastic, making his bones stick out; his lips were a menacing blood red as if he had coated them in strawberry juice a bit too thoroughly; but the worst thing about the face by far, was his eyes; they were just like two hollows in his head, expressionless and sinister, they looked like they were filled with murky sea water. He knelt down on his knees; dipping his fingers in the Oak-imps gooey blood, noticing that he had killed the little creature, he rubbed the blood between his fingers and let out a blood-curling laugh, so icy that it sent all the fairies flying to their nests. Straightening up he wiped his sticky fingers on his deep maroon robes and his merciless eyes gleamed with life for a few seconds, A Fire-bird on the branch next to him sang on and as he turned his head to face it he drew out his dagger. As he raised his arm, the Fire-bird carried on.

"Capricorn's back" the man smirked, plunging the blade deep into the bird's heart, "and this time I'm here to stay."

Capricorn withdrew his weapon and, pushing the dead bird off the tree, he strode on. He knew where he was going, he was going back to his fortress, the place where everyone did what he said, the place where there were no worthless fire-eaters and stupid women and irritating little girls that could manipulate him. No. He was going back to the land where He ruled, and where no one could tell him what to do. He made his way through the woods and past the inn by the border. His legs grew weary as he trudged along the paths, but the mere memory of his fortress where he had all the power and ruled over everyone kept him going. But as he trudged over the last path, that lead up to his fortress what a sight met his eyes.

The remaining walls were black and crumbling from fire. The stairway that had once led up to the watch-tower was lying in a heap by the overgrown courtyard. Yarrow sprouted out from everywhere, even the most unlikely places. The maid's old bakehouse had been reduced to ruins, charred beams hung limply from the walls and ivy and dust concealed the only remaining tapestry. The windows were now just holes in the walls, were thistles liked to sit and rest. Soot and moss clung to the stones surrounding the fortress, for dear life; and trees had invaded the den and made it look impossible that this place had ever been fit for human inhabitants. Capricorn halted and froze, staring at the ruins.

"What's going on?" he spoke softly, his dead eyes growing wider and wider as he took in all his surroundings.

"What's happened to my fort?" he hissed his normally gaunt face, turning a sickly magenta in anger, and his hands clenched, ready to kill.

"WHO'S DONE THIS!" he roared, making the neighboring fairies fly for cover, his face now a deep shade of maroon, and his palms so sweaty he could have washed his face with them, "WHO EVER IT WAS…" he bellowed "IS GOING TO WISH THEY HAD NEVER LIVED, WHEN THEY SEE WHAT I'M GOING TO DO TO THEM!" snarling furiously, he plodded over to his den and marched through the wilderness to his throne. Wiping the dead bugs, and leaves off the grimy silver he sat down in it. Capricorn the murder; Capricorn the killer; Capricorn the king.


	10. Chapter 10: Dust!

**Chapter 10 – Dust!**

"Dust," Fenoglio began, pronouncing it so clearly that every letter rang out through the tent, "Is a very complex being." Meggie and Farid exchanged glances. "It can do things that no other creature could ever even attempt, but it-"

"Wait," Meggie interrupted, "You said creature; Does that mean its alive,"

"Meggie, just listen please," Fenoglio groaned, "but in answer to your question, yes, dust is alive; a lot more alive than we thought. Dust is what allows you and your father to read the characters out of books; dust is what controls the system of reading; dust stops people slipping through the pages while they're so engrossed in a book, they don't know what's going on. Dust is very important. More important than many people ever realize, most people don't even know what dust is," he said, gesturing to Meggie and Farid who were both looking completely baffled, "ok," he sighed, "ok. I'll explain. Well," He paused, "I'll try, it's just it's…it's very complicated,"

"Well I expect you both know what dust is; the powdery substance that covers books, I also assume that you have never wondered what it does, what the point of it is," seeing their blank faces, Fenoglio carried on trying to stop the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile, "No matter, no matter," he said, "not many people question why it's there, just take no notice of it and carry on reading. When I was writing Inkheart however I became intrigued by the substance, it was always there camouflaging my work, and so I decided to phone a book-binder, I decided that if anyone knew what dust's purpose was then a book-binder would. So I phoned him up and it was then that I found out everything I know about the stuff."

"Dust can do incredibly powerful things to books and when anyone; whether it be you, your father or anyone else, reads someone out of a book it interferes with the system. When any living thing is read out of or into a book it automatically gets covered in dust. Not normal dust obviously," he added hurriedly, seeing Meggie about to protest, "Invisible dust. No-one can see it, not under a microscope, not even under a mega-microscope, It's 100percent completely invisible." Fenoglio stopped briefly to take a breather and Farid's voice piped up from the bed.

"How does this have anything to do with me seeing Capricorn in the woods?" he asked vigilantly, staring up at the old man's wrinkled face out of his dark eyes.

"Ah, well I was just coming to that," Fenoglio answered, "you see… when a person gets covered in dust, usually it just means that injury's are easier to heal, for instance; if you fell over in a world that was not your own, then you would be less likely to develop a cut or graze or something like that; but now it seems that dust is becoming more powerful, there have been many signs for this and when your father survived that attack against the Adderhead a few weeks ago I was almost sure I was right." Meggie's forehead was creased and she was squinting at Fenoglio, perplexed.

"What do you mean," she said, shaking her head, "What does any of this have to do with Farid seeing Capricorn?" Fenoglio looked up to the ceiling, and rubbed his eyes.

"Everything," he uttered simply, "Meggie, I think the reason your father survived that attack and the reason Farid, you saw Capricorn in the woods, is that the dust has become more powerful than ever. Instead of preventing minor injuries it has now risen to much higher levels, I think that now as soon as you are read into another book and get coated in dust, you become immortal, as long as you are in a world that is not your own." Fenoglio glanced at their astonished expressions and groaned, clawing at his head. "I knew I shouldn't have told you, Mo told me not to and I -"

"Mo," Meggie croaked, "You told Mo about this too."

"Well of course," Fenoglio said, bewildered at her tone of accusation, "Of course I told your father, I told him as soon as I saw that blasted fairy in the forest."

"What Fairy?" Meggie inquired, finding the full use of her voice back.

"The flaming one you read out of that book…thinker whatsit wasn't it…"

"TINKERBELL!" Meggie exclaimed.

"Oh yes, that's it…bloody fairy….very vain isn't she. I was taking a stroll in the woods and I saw her there, showing off to all her flaming friends, every now and then she would look in the lake to check her reflection; the others got bored after a while and flew off without her. Got ruddy grouchy then she did, worse than my grand-children ever were, she kicked the oak-imp next to her into the lake and went off in the corner to sulk." Meggie was intrigued by this piece of information, she had thought Tinkerbell had just disappeared with the rest of the fairies; it was nice to know that she was safe here; even if she was a bit conceited.

"If your right about this dust thing…" Farid suddenly spoke, "…then does that mean that…" he stopped, licking his lips as if he didn't want to say what he thought, "…doesn't it mean that…Isn't there…couldn't it…" he closed his eyes and breathed out the words…

"Is Dustfinger still alive?"


	11. Chapter 11: Immortal

**Chapter 11 – Immortal**

An uneasy silence unfolded in the tent as Fenoglio stared at Farid; he searched his face with a weary look in his eyes. Meggie watched them both; moving from one face to the other, her expression edgy as thought not sure of what was coming next. After a few minutes of the uncomfortable quietness Fenoglio finally raised his eyebrows and tore his eyes away. Meggie and Farid looked at each other, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know." Fenoglio muttered eventually, still avoiding eye-contact with either of them, "That occurred to me too. As soon as I worked it out about the dust I thought maybe, maybe it was possible, but now…now…"

"Now what?" Meggie asked, gently placing her hand on his shoulder,

"Now…" Fenoglio said, shaking his head, "now, I'm not sure," he turned to face them, "I'm sure that dust can't always prevent death, death is a part of life and we have to accept it and carry on, sometimes it's hard, sometimes it can be so hard that you wish you had passed on instead, and no matter how powerful dust is I don't think anything can make you immortal forever…"

"But is Dustfinger alive?" Farid demanded, growing more impatient by the minute, "I don't care about all this, I know death is hard, but is he alive? I JUST WANT TO KNOW!" Farid thumped the mattress so hard; he hit his fist on the hard floor. Fenoglio closed his eyes slowly while Farid swore.

"Farid, I would have thought even you would know by now that no one can answer that question. If he is alive I'm sure you would be the first person he'd want to see, but even if he has survived then he won't be in this world." Seeing confused looks on both Meggie and Farid's faces Fenoglio explained: "You see when I saw Tinkerwhatsit in the forest I realized what's been happening, and now hearing that you saw Capricorn in there too it makes sense. I understand now: if you die in a world that is not your own then you get transported back to your world and unable to return to the one that you passed away in."

"So Dustfinger might be alive in my world?" Meggie asked her eyes widening, "but he hates it there."

"Wait Meggie," Fenoglio heaved a sigh, "I said: 'if you die in a world that is NOT your own then you get transported back to your world'…Dustfinger died in this world…HIS original world, so I don't know what's happened. The rule may still apply or he may be gone forever, I'm not sure, but even if he is in our world then we must not fear for him, he knows how to look after himself, he has managed for years on his own."

"But Meggie, Mo and Cheese-face are here!" Farid cried, "No one can read him back!" Fenoglio groaned and held his head in his hands,

"Farid, if you had been listening to what I had told you then you would realize that if my thoughts are correct, then he cannot return anyway."

"DARIUS IS THERE!" Meggie suddenly exclaimed, oblivious of Fenoglio's last comment, "He'll do it, he'll read him back, I know he will."

Fenoglio rolled his eyes and got up off the mattress,

"You can believe that's true if it makes you feel better," he said, "but please don't be too upset if it turns out not to be right, Meggie your father will kill me if he finds out I've upset you and given you false hope-"

"-You haven't," Meggie retorted, "I know Darius, and I know Dustfinger and I know that neither of them will rest till they're here." "Not that Elinor will let them," she grinned.


End file.
